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Port Trucking

As the West Coast feels ripple effects from the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping Co., nationally the number of loads on the spot truckload freight market fell 5% during the week ending Sept. 24 compared to the week before as truck capacity increased 3%, according to DAT Solutions, its network of load boards.

The number of loads on the DAT network of load boards gained 20% during the week ending Sept. 17 compared to the week before and the number of trucks added 19% as the spot market rebounded during the first full week after the Labor Day holiday but it barely translated into higher rates.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should be at near-peak levels this month even as retailers work to cope with the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released Friday.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports should see a small-but-significant increase this month as merchants stock up for the back-to-school season, then see a larger wave in late summer and fall for the holiday shopping season.

Key New Jersey politicians along with activist groups, including the Teamsters union, on June 16 pushed for launching a more aggressive program to replace older trucks operating at the Port of New York and New Jersey to reduce the impact of air pollution on nearby residents, per a Journal of Commerce news story.

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office is accepting applications for an amnesty program that will allow carriers to reclassify drivers as employees and avoid liability for misclassifying them as independent contractors.

In what's being called a historic case, the Los Angeles office of the National Labor Relations Board is looking into whether port trucking company Intermodal Bridge Transport engaged in unfair labor practices toward its drivers by misclassifying employees as independent contractors.

Premium Transportation Services, also known as Total Transportation Services, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, citing its financial troubles related to driver misclassification lawsuits and legal costs.

Retail sales in the U.S. fell for the second consecutive month during February, according to a new preliminary Commerce Department report, raising some concerns about overall economic growth this year.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is proposing to deny access to trucks with model year 1994 and 1995 engines, effective January 1, 2018, and to require that, effective March 1, 2016, new trucks seeking to serve the port terminals must be equipped with a 2007 or newer model year engine..

Following an expansion of the Panama Canal in 2016, up to 10% of container traffic to the U.S. from East Asia could shift from West Coast ports to East Coast ports by 2020, according to research by the Boston Consulting Group and C.H. Robinson.

Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports has returned to normal levels following ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report.

A bill introduced on June 5 would expand the powers granted by the Taft-Hartley Act regarding labor disputes at U.S. ports allowing state governors the intervention powers currently reserved for the President.